Interested primarily in identity politics, social transformations, social movements, anti-Americanism, and authoritarianism with a focus on the ex-USSR, particularly Central Asia. His articles have appeared in Nationalism and Ethnic Politics, Europe-Asia Studies, Ethnic and Racial Studies, and Current History. He is the author of Modern Clan Politics (University of Washington Press, 2004). Before joining the UTM faculty, he held post-doctoral fellowships at Harvard University and the University of Notre Dame and taught at Southern Illinois University.